HR — Succession Planning Is Essential for Business Success

To keep growing a business, it’s vital to preserve the trust of customers, employees, partners and investors.

No matter how small or large your company is, a strategically written succession plan is critical for sustainability.

That must include talented employees and start with the chief executive officer.

Otherwise, if a CEO vacancy occurs without a succession plan, it creates an emergency and critical trust issues.

The succession plan must be designed and implemented well and take in consideration the opinions of key stakeholders.

It must also be reviewed every six months to prepare for any possible volatility.

Planning should include anticipated challenges and solutions regarding risks such as trends in competition, supply chains, customer preferences, and other marketplace forces.

With a company’s human capital being so important, it’s noteworthy that “90 percent of young workers say their engagement levels improve if the company they’re working for has a clear succession plan,” according to Davitt Corporate Partners.

The company, based in Dublin, Ireland, naturally points out the importance of intellectual capital.

“If all the best people end up leaving your company without sharing their knowledge; 40 years of experience is just walking out the door and lost forever,” says a company statement.

“A succession program will ensure critical positions are filled more quickly and that there is reduced staff turnover,” the company concludes.

For more insights on the need for succession planning, here’s an informative Davitt infographic:

From the Coach’s Corner, here are relevant strategies:

Home-Grown Succession Planning Helps Financial Performance — Companies that promote their chief executives from inside vis-à-vis recruiting from the outside have a much higher financial-success rate. In other words, successful companies identify and nurture their intellectual capital. It’s not just my experience. It’s been confirmed by a global human resources study.

“Succession planning doesn’t start with people. It starts with the requirements of the position.”

-David Ulrich

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional.Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.